Mystery
by Corvus
Summary: A short conversation between Touga and Juri; contains mild spoilers for the first thirteen episodes only. (Re-uploaded with edit)


"Mystery"  
A short fanfic for  
"Revolutionary Girl Utena"  
Written by Corvus  
  
  
Dappled sunlight played across the rich green fullness   
of the lush grass, rippling as a warm spring breeze tossed   
the branches of trees this way and that, running their   
leaves through the golden stream. A flicker of red flashed   
among the verdant life, the tossing cascade of scarlet mane   
that was the hair of Kiryuu Touga, Student Council President   
of Ohtori Academy. He stood with his eyes closed, head   
tilted back, a smile on his lips. The white jacket of his   
uniform hung open halfway down his chest, letting the breeze   
and the light caress him. Truly, a picture-perfect day.  
  
For a moment Touga's thoughts drifted away from the   
Council, away from the Rose Bride, the duels and End of the   
World, to a warm, quiet place where he was free of his   
obligation to the Revolution, free from his duty to himself   
and the others to be the one who would win the Power of   
Dios. The moment ended and the certainty returned. He   
would be the one to bring Revolution to the World.  
  
All around him the birds chirped their symphony in   
harmony with the rustling trees and the whispering wind.   
And in that symphony was a steady rhythm, regular as a   
heartbeat. Muffled footfalls on grass.  
  
Touga opened his eyes and turned his head.   
Approaching from behind was a fellow Council member,   
Arisugawa Juri, captain of the fencing team. Her flaxen   
curls bobbed in the breeze and her green eyes reflected the   
sweet life around them. "Good morning, Mister President,"   
she said to him.  
  
"Good morning, Miss Arisugawa," he replied. "What   
brings you out here on such a lovely day?"  
  
"One might ask you the same question," Juri said   
softly, just a hint of amusement touching the edges of her   
voice. In her eyes Touga could see that which he had come   
to know as Juri's defining trait, the self-reliance that   
made Juri the queen of all she surveyed. Even now as she   
stood with Touga on this quiet spring morning she claimed   
everything around with her gaze, suffering others to tread   
on her territory.  
  
"Indeed, one might." Touga ran a hand through his   
luxurious scarlet hair and flipped it back over his   
shoulder. "Such life, such potential. The future."  
  
"The future?" Juri turned a critical eye on the   
President, attempting to fathom the meaning of his words.  
  
His hands extended to his sides, Touga turned a slow   
circle. "Look around you, Juri. What do you see?"  
  
"I see trees, grass, hills... sunshine. The sky.   
You."  
  
"Nothing else?" Touga asked her.  
  
What was his game? Juri stared at Touga, and one   
golden eyebrow crept slowly up her forehead. "You obviously   
have something in mind."  
  
"I see potential, Juri. Power. Majesty. Everything   
we seek to claim in the Power of Dios."  
  
"How grand," she replied flatly. Had Touga slept   
well? Perhaps someone had slipped something into his juice   
at breakfast. Whatever the cause, the President was acting   
strangely. "Do you expect everyone to see the same thing?"  
  
He smiled at her as if sharing a secret. "No," Touga   
said, "of course not. Each of us is different. Each of us   
embodies a different passion, a different strength."  
  
Now Juri was certain Touga wasn't feeling like   
himself. "What do you mean by that?"  
  
Touga was silent as he lowered himself to the ground   
and stretched like an indolent cat. It was the same   
indolence that Juri saw Touga express in nearly every   
action, a self-assured relaxation that said, "You can't beat   
me, and I'm not going to worry about you." Finally he   
looked up at her, propped himself on his elbows and said,   
"Each of us -- you, me, Miki, Utena, Anthy, Saionji, even   
Nanami -- embodies a concept. You, dear Juri, are   
Self-Reliance incarnate."  
  
Juri folded her arms in front of her chest and stared   
down at the President with a smirk firmly in place. "Are   
you so certain?"  
  
"I am. You are the angel who believes in no miracles.   
Only yourself and your skill, and it gives you power. None   
can match you on the fencing ground, and that look in your   
eyes claims everything you see."  
  
"Do you think I'd claim you?" she asked of him, not   
bothering to hide her amusement.  
  
"You could claim the Power of Dios," Touga replied.   
He reclined once more and placed his hands behind his head.   
"And through it and the Revolution, you could claim the   
world."  
  
"How terribly philosophical of you." There was   
another long moment of silence. Juri looked up at the sky   
and thought she could see the black behind the blue like she   
sometimes did. Then she sat facing Touga. "All right, I'll   
play this game. What is Miki?"  
  
"You said it yourself," Touga began. "Miki is Talent.   
Raw, native talent that expresses itself in his genius, at   
the piano and in the classroom. He cannot match your skill   
in the duel, but even so he is nationally renowned. Kaoru   
Miki's talent could lead him to the Power of Dios one day if   
we are not careful."  
  
"Hmm," Juri muttered. She had indeed spoken of Miki's   
talent the day he had finally overcome her skill and beaten   
her. How had Kiryuu Touga learned about that conversation?   
It wasn't like Miki to boast. "Saionji?"  
  
"Ah, the Vice President, Saionji Kyouichi. We've all   
seen the depths of his soul laid bare, his desire for   
Himemiya Anthy, for the Rose Bride and the Power of Dios   
that she brings. That is Saionji, Desire. Desire so strong   
it cripples him, but even so it could very well lead him to   
the Revolution itself."  
  
Again Juri had to conceed the point. Touga's words   
were making sense, even if they weren't usual for the   
President. Or were they? Regardless, he was right;   
Saionji's inner drive toward the Power of Dios was like a   
raging inferno. Juri had seen its light in Saionji's eyes   
and heard its roar in his voice. "Nanami?"  
  
"My dear, dear little sister Nanami is none other than   
Devotion. In her eyes I am the Power of Dios." Touga   
smiled at Juri's sharp deriding laughter. "Surely you've   
seen what she's done to catch my attention. Nanami feels I   
have spurned her, and in that heartbreak you can hear the   
shattering of a world."  
  
"How like the Revolution, hmm?" Juri chided. "Tenjou   
Utena, then."  
  
"Miss Utena... The only word I can think of to   
describe that which Tenjou Utena embodies is Love. Love of   
friends, love of self, love of life and love of honor. It   
is her guiding strength and that which draws others to her   
like helpless moths to gleaming candle flames."  
  
The words came so naturally to Juri that she laughed   
as she spoke them. "Much like you, Mister President?" When   
Touga didn't respond she stilled her mirth and sighed   
lightly. "Himemiya Anthy."  
  
"The Rose Bride... Yes, she is the vessel of the   
Power of Dios, but more than that, she is Potential. Much   
like everything around us." With this, Touga stretched once   
more and got to his feet in a liquid motion. "She is a   
force of nature that we all want to tame. Though we seek to   
claim her, can we ever truly control her?"  
  
That statement took Juri by surprise. She barely   
noticed when Touga began walking away. Could the one who   
took the Rose Bride ever truly control her and that which   
lay within her? Anthy would obey the commands of whoever   
had won her... but was she truly the one in control of them   
all? Did the Rose Bride rule them?  
  
As Juri looked about her in startlement she saw Touga   
leaving. "What about you?" she called. "What are you?"  
  
The scarlet-maned Student Council President stopped,   
looked back at Juri, smiled his dazzling smile, and then   
continued walking away. And in that moment Juri knew she   
had her answer. Kiyruu Touga was, and forever would be... 


End file.
